Please help me to correct the following sentences.

English as a Second Language English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
1

  1. The Sun shines all/ through the day.

  2. Sometimes the moon goes through the clouds.

  3. We go home from/ after school.

  4. The moon goes around the sky from the east to west.

  5. We took a lot of photos during our visit in Rome last summer.

  6. Although the fish appears to be harmless, it is quite dangerous.
    => Contrary to its harmlessness, the fish is quite dangerous.

2

Hi, here are my suggestions:

  1. The sun shines all day.

  2. The sun shines throughout the day.

  3. The sun shines all through the day.

  4. Sometimes the moon shines through the clouds.

  5. Sometimes the moon goes behind the clouds.

(The moon can’t go through the clouds because the moon is far far above the clouds. The moon’s light can go through the clouds though, if they are thin enough. )

  1. We go home from school.

  2. We go home after school.

  3. The moon goes across the sky from the east to west.

  4. We took a lot of photos during our visit to Rome last summer.

  5. We took a lot of photos during our vacation/holiday in Rome last summer.

  6. Although the fish appears to be harmless, it is quite dangerous.

  7. Contrary to its harmless appearance, the fish is actually quite dangerous.

  8. Contrary to its harmless reputation, the fish is actually quite dangerous.

3

Many thanks teacher Luschen. Please help me more.

  1. I swear I love no one but you.

  2. We don’t have enough rice for dinner because there is liitle/ a little left.

  3. They live happily despite their poorness/ poverty.

4

Many thanks teacher Luschen. Please help me more.

  1. I swear I love no one but you.

  2. We don’t have enough rice for dinner because there is liitle/ a little left.

  3. They live happily despite their poorness/ poverty.

5
6
7

Yes, teacher I got all thing you have commented. Please help me more.

  1. The United States consists of fifty states, each of them or each of which has its own government.

  2. There has been some good news recently.

  3. I think he will join us, don’t I?

  4. I don’t mind when you go on holiday. It doesn’t really matter/ effect me.

  5. As children, we were grown up/ brought up to respect our elders.

  6. Their flat is decorated in a sweet combination of colors.

  7. But for/ Apart from his advice, I would never got the job.

8

Before Luschen attends to it, I would only point to the sentences which I consider worth tweaking.

  1. The United States consists of fifty states, each of them having its own government.

  2. As we use tag questions to ask for confirmation, it would sound a bit strange to me seeking confirmation of what you think. It’s as if you doubt your thinking ability (“I think … don’t I?”) If a tag is apt here at all, I’d go with the “I think he WILL join us, won’t he?“ pattern.

  3. It doesn’t really matter to me when you go on holiday. It doesn’t affect [not effect!] me when you go on holiday. I don’t mind your going on holiday whichever time you choose.

  4. But for his advice, I would never have got the job [said when you’ve got the job]. Had it not been for his advice, I would never have got the job.

9

Thanks Eugene, as usual, your comments are excellent. I might add:

  1. The United States consists of fifty states, each of which has its own government. {this sounds fine to me, but Eugene’s suggestion is also good.}

  2. I think he will join us, don’t you?

  3. As children, we were brought up to respect our elders. {you bring up children, and children grow (get bigger) and children grow up (become adults), but you do not grow children or grow up children, you grow plants :slight_smile: }

  4. Their flat is decorated in a sweet combination of colors. {It is a little unclear to me what “sweet” means here - it is a slang term similar to “cool” or “awesome”}

10

Thanks Eugene, as usual, your comments are excellent. I might add:

  1. The United States consists of fifty states, each of which has its own government. {this sounds fine to me, but Eugene’s suggestion is also good.}

  2. I think he will join us, don’t you?

  3. As children, we were brought up to respect our elders. {you bring up children, and children grow (get bigger) and children grow up (become adults), but you do not grow children or grow up children, you grow plants :slight_smile: }

  4. Their flat is decorated in a sweet combination of colors. {It is a little unclear to me what “sweet” means here - it is a slang term similar to “cool” or “awesome”}

11

Thank you, Luschen.
Good to have a native speaker as a grindstone to polish what you call your skills on.

5.—I was in two minds on ‘to grow up’ there, I confess. Perhaps ‘we were raised’ could sound good too?
6.—Since ‘sweet’ can be interpreted as agreeable to the senses (sweet face\music), I thought I had to make do with “a sweet combination of colors.”
3. I think he will join us, don’t you [think]? –-addressed to those present.
I think he will join us, won’t he?—sounds to me as pronounced with a furtive glance at Him in question. Serving as a means to get him to join.

Was it of any worth to you?

12

Hi, since you don’t mind some grinding, it is “of two minds”, not “in two minds”. :slight_smile:

*** edited *** - oops, once again I am flummoxed by the US/UK divide - apparently “in two minds” is more common in the UK (and Ukraine I assume) while in the US we more often say “of two minds”

I think “we were raised” sounds great.
I agree with your definition of sweet, but to me, “a sweet combination of colors” is more similar to “wow, that’s a sweet sports car” than to “wow, that’s a sweet melody” - the former is more of a slang usage.
I agree with your alternative for #3 - or to be more forceful, “I am sure he will join us, won’t he?”

1 Like
13

“I am sure he will join us, won’t he?” This is dependent on what is logically dominant: whether your being sure or his joining you. Here we usually go by the latter and add the tag ‘won’t he?’.

“I think he will join us, don’t you?” Here you perhaps want the listener to agree with you. It’s a rare context. But the tag ‘don’t you?’ cannot be ruled out.

The mood of the speaker also plays a silent role and influences the question tag as in the following situation in which a father may say to his son who has been pestering with unnecessary noisy interruptions:
Stop making noise, won’t you? (A bit uneasy with the noise)
Stop making noise, will you? (A bit disturbed by the noise)
I say, stop making noise, can’t you? (A bit irritated at the noise)